


Stay For The Night

by hatchetfield_bee



Category: Black Friday - Team StarKid, StarKid Productions RPF
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:01:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23199817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hatchetfield_bee/pseuds/hatchetfield_bee
Summary: When Lex shows up to Ethan’s doormat with a black eye, a suitcase and Hannah at her side, Ethan immediately lets them in.
Relationships: Ethan Green & Hannah Foster, Hannah Foster & Ethan Green, Hannah Foster & Lex Foster, Lex Foster/Ethan Green
Comments: 2
Kudos: 64





	1. Chapter 1

When Lex showed up at Ethans doormat unannounced, he didn’t know what to think. He obviously wasn’t angry, but usually she would text him if she was coming over, to give him time to prepare. So when Lex showed up with a suitcase, a black eye and Hannah next to her with a red handprint on her cheek he didn’t know what to think. He immediately let them in and was essentially tackled into a hug by Lex. With tears streaming down her cheeks she mumbled into his shoulder many apologies. He just shushed her and stroked her hair, making sure that Hannah was in the house before shuffling over with Lex to shut the door behind them.  
When Lex let go of him they immediately walked over to the couch where Hannah was already situated. He turned on some show that he knew Hannah liked and asked them “Are you guys hungry,” Hannah shook her head and Lex said no, but he still took Lex’s hand and lead her to the pantry while Hannah was encapsulated in her show.  
“So, babe. Do ya wanna tell me why you showed up to my door at 11pm?” He ran his thumb over her knuckles as he talked. He reached to grab an ice pack from the freezer and rested it on the counter next to Lex.  
Lex sighed, tears already forming in her eyes, “I couldn’t fucking do it anymore. She hit Hannah. I can deal with the shit she does to me but now Hannah? I just packed our shit and walked out. Your place was the only one I knew by heart,” She took the ice pack and muttered a thank you, a tear starting to fall from her eye . “We don’t have to stay here tonight or anything. Hannah and I can find a motel and go back in the morning when she’s passed out again.”  
Ethan almost interrupted her, and wiped the tear away with his thumb, “Oh no- you think I’m lettin’ you guys go back to that shit hole? You’re crazy babe. You guys can stay here tonight. My beds kind of small so one of you can take the couch and then I’ll sleep on the floor. Are you guys hurt anywhere else?” He glanced her over but couldn’t notice anything.  
“Babe, it’s fine I’ll figure it out. I think my rib or something might be bruised,” She lifted up her shirt a little to show a large purple spot on her upper stomach, “Shit,” she said blatantly.  
Ethan let go of her hand and scrambled around to find another ice pack. He usually only used one when he got into a fight with his mom or something, but he didn’t care about his safety as much as he did Lex’s. He couldn’t find one anywhere so he just grabbed a handful of ice and wrapped it in a bundle of paper towels. “This is shitty but it’s the best we’re gonna get until I can go out and buy another one tomorrow.” He pressed the homemade ice pack to Lex’s stomach, she winced and mumbled a few profanities . He looked up and gave her an apologetic look, “You're staying here tonight. I don’t give two shits if I have to sleep in a goddamn trash can, you’re not going back to that place. At least not without me” As he held the ice to her stomach he thought about Hannah, how fucking cold hearted do you have to be to hurt that sweet girl.  
A few more tears slipped out of Lex’s eyes, a few from pain and a few from happiness. Sure, this situation was shitty, but if she hadn’t had Ethan, it would’ve been much worse. She looked at him for a few seconds before whispering a soft, “Thank you.” If he wasn’t paying so much attention to her he definitely would've missed it.  
But he didn’t, he heard it loud and clear. He smiled up at her and said “Any-fuckin’-time, babe.” He kissed her forehead lightly. “I'm gonna check up on Banana. Try to juggle both ice packs while I’m gone, okay?” She nodded and he pecked her one last time before returning to the living room.  
He grabbed the remote and turned the television down, which made Hannah frown slightly, but once she saw who it was her frown disappeared. He looked her over, “Hey ‘nana, how’re ya feeling?” She looked at him and said “hurt,”  
Ethan could’ve started crying right then and there, with her tear-filled brown eyes and the irritation on her cheek, “Well, lemme tell you. We have a fun night planned. I’m gonna very quickly ice your face and then, you get to stay over, howabout that?”  
Hannah’s face lit up, everytime she had come with Lex to Ethans apartment she had always pretended to fall asleep so that she wouldn’t have to go home, but Lex would always take her back anyways (Despite Ethans attempts at convincing her to do otherwise). She flapped her arms around happily and smiled wide. Ethan smiled at her before running to grab some ice and a napkin for her mark. When he came back, the TV show was already turned up to its initial volume and Hannah was already glued to it. He sat on her side so that he could hold the ice to her face in a position more comfortable for her. He had known that she didn’t really like the feeling of cold things on her face after The Ice Cream Incident’, so he tried his best to make her comfortable and to keep her calm. Meanwhile she was hyper focusing on the show so that she wouldn’t freak out. After a few minutes Lex came to sit on other end of the couch, resting her elbow and holding the ice on both of her injuries.  
About 10 minutes passed by and the ice had done as much as it could for Hannah’s face, when Ethan removed his hand and the ice pack he kissed the top of Hannah’s head, “You did so good, I’m so proud of you,” she kept her focus on the show, but smiled. Ethan retired the ice and the napkin, putting the ice in the sink and throwing the napkin into his makeshift trash can (a laundry basket). He came back and sat between the two sisters, but closer to Lex than the younger.  
He looked over at her, “So, babe. How’re ya feelin’?” He said as she rested her head on his shoulder.  
“A little better. My eye is as good as it’ll get until the swelling goes down, so it’s really just the stomach.”  
Ethan smiled at her, leaning his head a little bit on top of hers to let her know that he accepted the gesture, and kissed her hair, “I’m glad, Lexie. Do you want me to take the ice back?”  
She groaned, “No~. Please don’t leave,” She set the ice pack as far as it could go without her needing to bend forwards. Which was on her thigh.  
Ethan laughed and said, “As you wish,” He took the ice pack off of her and leaned over to set it down on the table. He was content with his little family. He hoped that they felt the same way.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A shorter chapter about what happens when neither of them can sleep.

Soon enough, it was so late that Hannah was dozing off instead of watching her show, which meant that it was time for sleep. After a long, tired debate, they decided that Lex and Hannah would take the bed, and Ethan would take the pull-out couch. He made their bed for them and emptied out a few drawers so that they could feel more at home. He unpacked a few of Hannah’s stuffed animals and laid them out on half of the bed, taking Lex’s pillow (she liked them very hard) and propping it up on the other half. He gave them both kisses good night, but obviously the older sister’s was a little bit longer, and they went to sleep.  
Both of them wished that it was that easy. Them being Lex and Ethan. Lex was up because she was trying to figure out what she was going to do with Hannah. Meanwhile, Ethan was up because every single movement he made, the pull-out couch would squeak and it was annoying the shit out of him. Well more so it was worrying him that he would wake the sisters up. Lex decided that after hearing the bed squeak enough times, Ethan was indeed awake. So she walked out of his bedroom and over to his futon. When he heard footsteps, he immediately jumped up.  
“Christ, babe. You scared the shit outta me. Fuck- did I wake you up? Is Banana still asleep?” He sat up to look at her. He couldn’t see much because of how dark it was, but he could make out her messy hair and his t-shirt that he let her borrow for the night.  
She laughed, whispering, “Hannah’s fine, babe. I couldn’t sleep, and I figured from the squeaks that you couldn’t either.” She climbed into the futon,  
Covering herself with the thin sheet of his fleece blanket.  
He frowned, even though Lex couldn’t quite see it, she could make the expression out by the tone of his voice, “Are you okay? Babe, you should get some sleep.” He reached up to touch her cheek lightly. As said before he cared about Lex’s health and safety a hell of a lot more than his own.  
She giggled, something she didn’t really do often in public, just when she was alone with Hannah it Ethan. Ethan thought it the most beautiful sound in the goddamn world. “I’m fine, babe. I was just thinking about shit. It was kinda cold too,” she smiled, moving closer to Ethan. It wasn’t cold, no matter how much money he lost from it he always liked it hot. So he saw right through her ruse and wrapped an arm around her, peppering kisses all over her face. She laughed, “This is not what I wanted.” She feigned sadness and gently hit his chest. He was still wearing his striped shirt, but the leather jacket was gone and he traded in his jeans for a pair of basketball shorts.  
“Well my dearest apologies,babe. You should probably be more specific next time.” He held her close, being careful not to touch her rib.  
She moved closer, her face was essentially stuffed into his shoulder at this point, she laughed at what he said. Lex was silent for a minute, “I think I love you.” She said this very quietly. Ethan almost didn’t hear it. He took another minute to respond, making sure that he heard her right. “I- uh, think I love you too.” They had both been in relationships before, and they had both suffered watching each other’s relationships. Ethan had gone out with a few girls in middle school, and about 2 besides Lex in high school. None of them lasted long enough for either to really develop feelings for eachother. Lex had only dated one other person in high school, but that was essentially in retaliation to Ethan. Both of these relationships were in sophomore year. Lex’s relationship lasted longer than any of Ethans. They weren’t really together, they were just really close friends. Ethan was still jealous, though. Anytime Lex leaned on the boy’s shoulder, or he kissed her cheek, Ethan would either storm off or say, ’Get a fucking room.’ When Lex broke it off in April of Sophomore year, a 6.5 month long relationship, she didn’t seem too crushed. But, boy was Ethan happy. He genuinely thought it might’ve been the best day of his life. He was ecstatic.’  
He waited until summer to ask Lex out. She immediately said yes. She also immediately knew that this was who she was going to fall in love with.  
He patted her hair down and mumbled a goodnight into her scalp and she kissed his shoulder and said the same. Soon enough, they were both peacefully asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My next chapter is probably gonna be just about when they were younger, so tooth-rotting fluff and a tiny bit of angst. I hope you liked this chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The earlier times in their relationship.

The first time Ethan and Lex met was in 6th grade, during their English class. They had seen each other around but never really talked. So when they were paired up to read an Edgar Allan Poe story, it was a little uncomfortable at first. As they switched off with paragraphs and shared their thoughts for annotations they became more comfortable and started joking around with each other. This was the first time Lex had ever willingly completed an assignment and also the first time Ethan had finished an assignment without Ms. Cole’s help. Since that day they were essentially inseparable, in every single class no matter where their assigned seats were they’d always end up sitting together. The teachers could tell how they motivated each other so, up until high school they were partnered up for every single project they had.  
The first time Ethan had met Hannah was in 7th grade. Hannah was about four years old and Lex had trusted him enough to let him walk with her to pick Hannah up. She explained how Hannah was sometimes uncomfortable meeting new people, especially if she didn’t know that she was going to, and Ethan was more than accepting. That made Lex’s heart flutter a little bit but she kept it down. Hannah ran out of her preschool dismissal area and directly into Lex’s arms. She unzipped Lex’s backpack from her shoulder and got her stuffed spider.  
“Hey Banana! Was today a good day?” Hannah looked up and nodded. She then pointed at Ethan while still looking at Lex. “This is my friend, Ethan. He’s gonna walk home with us, is that okay?” Hannah inspected him a little bit before nodding and going back to her position on Lex’s shoulder.  
Lex looked over to Ethan with a smile, “I think she likes you,” Ethan smiled back at Lex and looked at Hannah as well.  
“Well, god I hope so,” He chuckled and scratched the back of his neck. Ethan walked Lex and Hannah back to their house, giving them both a hug before making his way back to his own. The entire walk back he was humming, his steps were kind of rhythmic. Almost like a skip.  
He walked Lex and Hannah home every single day after that. On the last day of their sophomore year, Ethan asked if he could see their trailer. She reluctantly agreed, especially looking at Hannah’s excited face when she asked. She hoped that her mother wouldn’t be awake, so that they could just stay in her and Hannah’s shared room. Before they walked in Lex gestured to them to try and be quiet so that they wouldn’t wake her mother up. They walked into their room quietly and they were all clear. They hung out for a little while, Ethan and Hannah were playing hand games and Lex was drawing in her science notebook. It was calm for a while until Lex heard Slam! She muttered a ‘Shit!’  
“Watch Hannah, keep her in here alright? I’ll be right back.” Ethan raised his eyebrows at her as an ‘Are you sure?’ and she nodded back at him before leaving the room.  
Ethan kept Hannah as far away from the door as he could and tried to distract both Hannah and himself from the noises that were going on downstairs. There were sounds of slapping and bangs that most likely were from a body hitting a wall, along with a lot of yelling. He could tell which ones were Lex’s, her’s were the ones that sounded pained.  
He heard walking towards the door to the room and protectively put Hannah behind him. Lex opened the door. Ethan looked her over, she had a bloody nose, her pupils were dilated and she limped into the room and shut the door, sitting on the ground in front of the bed. Hannah immediately started crying and ran over to Lex sitting on one of her legs (The one that she assumed wasn’t hurt), and Ethan sat down next to her. Looking her over carefully. He knew that her mom would hit her but he never knew how far it went, she always hid it with makeup or at least a smile.  
He reached up to wipe some of the blood off her face with his thumb, giving her a pity smile, “Shit, Lexie. Do you guys have any tissues? Or anything like that?” Every time he wiped a tear away from her eye he could see her wince. She pointed to the corner where there was a Dollar Tree bag with off-brand Kleenex and Band-aids hanging out of it. He walked over to the bag and grabbed it. Before he walked back he could hear Hannah crying and Lex saying to her, “Shh, it’s gonna be okay, Ethans gonna help us.” He smiled. He lo- too soon Ethan you guys aren’t even dating yet. He liked these girls a whole lot, he’d stay with them forever if it killed him. He walked back to them and gently wiped Lex’s face with a tissue, apologizing every time she winced. Her face was mostly clean at this point, he couldn’t do much with what he had. So he went over to Hannah and wiped off her tears while tickling her so she wouldn’t put too much attention to the shitty paper of the tissue. He picked her favorite stuffed animal, the spider up off the ground and gave it to her, she immediately jumped onto the bed and started playing with it. After, he wrapped Lex in a big bear hug, playing with her hair as she sobbed into his jacket. He held her close and whispered affirmations into her ear, things like ‘You’re so strong. Everything is gonna be okay. E.t.c.’ She let go of the hug and grabbed a tissue, wiping her eyes and patting Ethans shoulder with it as well, which made them both laugh.  
“We should get outta this shithole. Let’s fucking move across the country,” Lex said, a shimmer in her eye, which Ethan admired.  
Ethan laughed and wrapped an arm around Lex’s shoulders and she leaned into him, “One, that’s a good idea, but where? And two, how the fuck do you suppose we’re gonna get there, Lexie?”  
She thought for a minute, “Somewhere sunny, somewhere with a shit ton of opportunities, like California. You have a car, dipshit. We’ll drive.” She didn’t mention the fact that she wanted to be an actor quite yet, because she was a little bit embarrassed.  
“If you think my piece of shit car can make it to Cali, then sure we’ll all move there after we get outta high school,” he patted her shoulder. He looked through the ripped curtains covering their small window, “Shit it’s getting dark,” he thought out loud.  
Lex sat up slowly, due to her injuries, “You can go if you need to, E.”  
Ethan looked at her, well more analyzing than looking, he thought and turned to look at their alarm clock that was set on the ground. “I’m already late, and god knows my mom won’t even notice, she’ll just toss me around no matter what I do,” he chuckled lightly. “I’d rather not leave you guys alone right now, but I’m fine with leaving if you want me too,”  
Hannah looked up from her spider for a second to whisper “Stay.” Ethan smiled at her.  
Lex sighed, “I don’t want you to get hurt, but I’m okay with you staying, and it seems like Banana is too,” she smiled at him.  
Ethan smiled widely and gave Lex a side hug so he could pull her closer to him, “So, are you guys excited for the summer, or what?”  
Hannah smiled widely, not looking up from her spider, “Yeah!” They both chuckled a little bit.  
“I’m glad someone is, but I’m starting my job, so I need to figure out what to do with this little bean.” She laughed when Ethan pulled her closer and leaned her head back into his shoulder.  
Ethan thought, “Oh shit, I could watch her! I’m workin’ part time at a kids camp and I’m sure they’ll let her be in there, would you like that, Split? I can drive you guys in and drop you off every morning if you’d like.” He patted the bed lightly. Hannah looked at him and nodded frantically, smiling.  
Lex looked a little shocked, “You’d do that? Really? Jesus, thank you so much. I’ll like, pay you for gas or some shit if you want. You’re literally saving my ass so much right now.” Lex sat up and moved a little that she could face Ethan directly.  
He looked back at her, “Of course I’d do that. I’ll do anything for you guys. If you even fucking think about paying me I’ll- I don’t know- but I’ll do something. Spending the days with my two favorite girls is payment enough.”  
She looked at him and hugged him tightly, “Thank you so fuckin much, E. I could literally kiss you right now. You have no idea how grateful I am,”  
When she said that his breath caught in his throat and, although she couldn’t see it, his cheeks flushed lightly. God, he wished she would. “It’s no problem, Lexie. So, I’ll pick you guys up at like 7:45-ish every morning, maybe earlier and I’ll buy you guys some breakfast,” She let go of the hug and he felt winded for some reason.  
She noticed the light pink on his cheek and dismissed it as her hugging him too tight. She felt a little bad for that, “Yeah, that’s good. I think I start like next Wednesday. Is that okay?” She looked at the clock and it was 8:25PM, “Banana, you should start getting ready for sleep, hon. Webby should too.”  
Hannah groaned and kissed Webby goodnight before giving it to Lex. She gave Lex a kiss goodnight and Ethan a hug.  
“I start the Monday after that, but I can take her to the park or to the mall or something to kill time. And then we’ll meet you back at the shop.” When Hannah hugged him he whispered to her, “Night, Split. Don’t let the bedbugs bite!” And tickled her.  
Hannah giggled and swatted at his hands before saying, “Bedbugs aren’t real!” and tucking herself into bed.  
Lex looked at him guiltily, “Are you sure you wouldn’t mind doing that? You know that sometimes she can be a lot.” She quieted her voice and wobbly tried to stand up to walk over to the other side of the room.  
Ethan immediately stood up and grabbed her arm, walking with her saying, “Of course I don’t mind, Hannah’s like my own little sister. I won’t let her fall into a water fountain or anything, I’ll keep her safe. You should really get your leg checked out, I don’t like seein’ you hurt, Lexie.” He gently held her hand as she sat down. Just in case she needed support.  
“I know I can trust you, but I don’t want you to spend your summer babysitting if you don’t want to.” She looked up at him as she sat down and squeezed his hand. Her eyes were red and so were her cheeks, probably from crying. “I’m fine, Ethan. You shouldn’t worry about me so much. You’re the one coming to school decorated with shades of purple and blue. I don’t like seeing you like that either.” She continued holding his hand for while after she sat down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is half of the third chapter so it kind of ends off on a strange note, but I didn’t wanna make it too long. I’ll probably update again tomorrow! See y’all then!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A cont. of the last chapter and a little bit of a prequel to chapter 2.

When she squeezed his hand, Ethan choked on his breath a little bit. It was probably the sweetest thing he had ever experienced, besides the common occurrence of Hannah having him pick her up or Lex falling asleep on his shoulder. There were a lot of sweet moments with these two, and despite the way Ethan may want himself to be viewed, he cherished each one of them.   
He smiled, “Well, it’s nice to know you care, but that leg is more important than my shiners every once in a while,” It wasn’t once in a while, it was a very common happening. It was essentially one after another, once on healed he came to school with another one, and another array of injuries. “My cousin, you know, Oliver. Once he broke his leg, but they assumed it was just a sprain or whatever so they didn’t do anything. When they went to the doctors he had to like fuckin snap his bone back into place. It sucked.” He shivered a little bit just thinking about Lex having to go through that.  
“Well good thing I probably just like pulled a muscle or something because that sounds fucking horrible. I’m not going to the doctors, that costs a shit ton. I’ll just walk it out, E. You know it’ll be worse if I get fired from my job on the first day, because I can’t fucking walk. She’ll lose her shit if we can’t pay rent again.” She tapped each of Ethans knuckles with her thumb, absentmindedly.  
Ethan smiled and looked down at their intertwined hands before convincing himself to snap out of it, “I’ll fucking pay for it if that’s what it takes. I don’t want your summer to be shitty just because of something she did to you, Lex. You deserve better than this shithole, both of you do. I was thinking that maybe after I pick you guys up each day maybe we could relax or something. Maybe watch the sunset in the car, while listening to that mixtape thingy you made me. Just to pass the time. It’ll give us all a little break before we have to face our actual shitty lives,”  
Lex smiled just thinking about it, “I’ll be fine and my summer will be great as long as I’m with you two. That would be real nice. Maybe we could watch the stars through your little window on the roof. I could find some food from the mall and we could have a little picnic together, some nights.” She pulled Ethan’s hand into her lap and started playing around with his fingers, more specifically a ring on his finger. A ring that lex had got him for Christmas halfway through 7th grade. She said it was a friendship ring. She had a matching one but hers was kept in a lockbox full of jewelry so her mom wouldn’t find it.   
Lex bought the rings that November when she went to the 99 cent store to find a gift for Hannah. She bought her Webby that day. She also found a deal on mood rings, two for a dollar. They obviously didn’t work, they didn’t even change colors, but Ethan hadn’t taken his off since that day.   
He noticed that she was playing with the ring and said, “It’s the only thing besides this leather jacket that I’ve never even thought about taking off,” he gave her a half smile, “Yeah, little sunset picnics would be cute.” Ethan and Lex both thought about it dreamily for a second.   
Those sunset picnics soon turned into sunset dates after Ethan had asked Lex out. Hannah would play in the car, occasionally coming out to play with Ethan or Lex. They were usually sitting on the front of the car looking over the hills and talking about whatever came to mind. They had some sort of shitty lunch meat sandwich in their hands and Hannah had a PB&J, because she disliked the texture of lunch meat.  
After they had finished they would all sit in to get her in the car, Lex and Ethan holding hands on the center console. Some old rock song that they could barely make out from the static of the radio playing.   
At every stoplight Ethan and Lex would always try to kiss, but Hannah making gagging noises in the back of the car would make them both laugh until the light turned green.   
When he got them back to their house it was about the time that their mom would leave for the bars. Lex and Hannah would always convince Ethan to watch a movie with them. No matter what the movie was both Hannah and Lex would end up falling asleep during it. He would wait until the morning to ensure their safety and then would wake them both up so that they could get ready for their day. Ethan’s counselor shirt was something that Lex would never stop making fun of him for. It was bright red and had ‘Keep calm and camp on!’ written on the back in comic sans.  
Three years later, he still had that camp shirt in his drawers. He had tucked it into the back that night in hopes that Lex wouldn’t see it, but she did. In fact, that was the shirt that she decided was perfect to sleep in. When he went in to say goodnight she was smiling wide,  
“Really, Lex? I invite you into my home and you patronize me?” He said when he saw the shirt.  
“Now- I’m not patronizing shit, I saw this shirt with this, just inspiring mantra on it and decided that this is what I need in my life. Peace and calm, especially knowing that I will indeed camp on,” Lex was laughing throughout this and so was Ethan. Hannah was giggling in the corner with Webby.   
Ethan rolled his eyes before sitting down on the end of the bed a few feet away from the side Hannah was on. “So, how are ya’ feeling babe?” He patted the spot next to him for Lex to sit down.  
She sat down slowly trying not to bend her torso too much. “Okay. My shiner isn’t looking any better and my bruise is still ripe as shit. I feel better though like mentally or whatever” Lex grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers. The ring was still there.  
He kissed her fingers as she intertwined them, “Well, I like aspirin and all that jazz if ya want some. I might have some like neosporin but I don’t know what that’ll do, I’ve never used it. But I’m glad you feel better. What about you, Banana? Feelin’ alright?” He looked over to the younger sister who was sitting on the ground and bouncing her spider on the bed.  
“Webby says I’ll be okay. I’m good.” She and Webby hopped over to the couple.  
He ruffled up Hannah’s braids, “Okay, Split. Good night to you two. Don’t stay up too late. I’ll be in the other room if you can’t sleep or want food or something. Alright?” He stood up so that he looked more powerful than he felt.  
Lex rolled her eyes, “Alright, mom,” Hannah laughed at that and repeated her words.  
Ethan feigned superiority, “Hey, someone has to take care of you two rascals,” He lifted Hannah up off the ground and kissed her goodnight while she giggled. He then put Hannah gently back onto the bed with Webby. He walked over to Lex and bent down so that she didn’t have to stand up, “Try not to sleep on your side, do you need an extra pillow for it? I don’t need any of them.” He drummed his hands on her thighs.  
She smiled warmly and wrapped her hands around his neck, “I’m fine, babe. Thank you so much, for everything tonight. You’ve been a fucking angel.” She played with his hair. “Hannah and I can probably find somewhere to go for tomorrow. I’ll just use some money I got from selling. We’ll find a cheap motel or something.”   
Ethan looked at her, “No way, you’re staying here dumbass. I'm not letting you two stay in a fucking crackhouse of a motel. I have enough food and we can do shit tomorrow. I’ll get some more stuff for Hannah and it’ll be fine. Please, listen to me on this, Lexie. I want you guys to stay with me.” He gave her a pleading look.   
She bit back a smile. Lex already felt like shit for coming over tonight, she also wasn’t sure how long it would take until she could find a safe place for Hannah and her. On the other hand, he called her Lexie. How the fuck could she say know when he asked her like that. “Okay fine. For tomorrow too. But I don’t know how long it’ll take until I can afford to get like a nicer hotel for us. Are you sure you’re okay with that?” She looked at him in anticipation as he thought over what he was going to say.  
Ethan was mulling something over in his mind, he took a minute to respond “Of course babe. You can stay here until the next fucking Ice Age for all I care. Did you leave anything at your mom’s house?”   
Lex thought for a second, “Fuck. Most of the cash for Cali is under my bed. Shit. I’m so sorry.” She groaned and hit her forehead with her hand, looking up.   
He took her hand off her forehead, “Don’t fucking hit yourself, dumbass. I literally asked because I have a job in an alley near there so I can go pick it up after we drop Banana off at school.”   
Lex fiddled around with Ethans fingers, she looked down at him, “Are you sure? We don’t have to do that. I’ll make the money back.”   
Ethan put his other hand to her cheek, “We don’t have to go if you don’t want to, but I have a feeling you might’ve forgotten more than just the cash.”   
Lex looked at him, confused, but her confusion soon shifted into realization, “Fuck- I forgot about the ring, you’re right. Fucking shit. Yeah, let’s go back. I’ll take a hit if it means I get that ring back. I’m such a dumbass, Jesus Christ.” She jumped up when she said it and then groaned in pain.   
Ethan got up so he could help settle her, “You're right, you are a dumbass.” He held both of her hands, “I won’t let shit hit you, you can just tell me where it is and I’ll go in, easy. Now why don’t you go to sleep. You’ve had a shitty day and I don’t want you to have a shitty morning. Okay?”   
She looked up at him now, because of the height difference, “Fine,” she stood on her tip-toes so that she could reach his lips as she kissed him, “Again, thank you, babe. I-“ she stopped, she had almost said what she ended up saying later that night. “Uh- I hope you have a good night,”   
He smiled at her, “You too. Do you need any help or are you fine getting into bed,” She shook her head at him, indicating that she was fine. He pecked her one last time and said, “Sleep well, Fosters.” Before closing the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will probably be about the following morning. I hope y’all stay safe during quarantine! XOXO


End file.
